I do love NOLA and its Buffistas that are nothing but kindness and fun. I'm now back at smonster's place after walking around where I was told I can WITHOUT GETTING LOST, and now will try to figure out Chicago till she'll be back home.

This is exactly the holiday I needed. Thank you so much for that.

I'm jealous! I still haven't been to New Orleans. Really need to get down there.

OK, Chicago: other than the 18th (maybe a part of it, maybe all of it, still don't know) and unless Brenda will have other plans for us, I'm free (15th from noon when I land, 16th, 17th, 19th, and 20th till my flight).

Aurelia, dcp, other people I might have forgotten - should we plan something?

Glad you got out a little this afternoon, Shir! Did you find the gelato place?

Very glad you took me to this place, it was yummy. I thought New Orleans will be hard with me being vegetarian and no peppers/spicy rule, but damn, the food here is really amazing even with my restrictions. As for the gelato - smonster texted me later that she might be in mood for gelato later, so I decided to skip what I thought was the gelato shop, and wait for her.

Glad you’re having fun, Shir!

P-C, I meant to respond to you earlier, sorry. ND will be in tech that whole weekend, so he will be busy. I don’t know yet if I’ll be in town--it’s a bit up in the air. I have your chocolates and will find a way to get them to you, but I don’t know if game night will work.

On that note of getting things to people who asked them - Erin, I got the Israeli small change for M.'s coin collection. If you'll email me an address, I'll make sure to send them over.

P-C, I meant to respond to you earlier, sorry. ND will be in tech that whole weekend, so he will be busy. I don’t know yet if I’ll be in town--it’s a bit up in the air. I have your chocolates and will find a way to get them to you, but I don’t know if game night will work.

Aw, that's too bad.

If I’m in town, I’d be up for dinner regardless. I won’t know until next week for sure, though.

Shir, I defer to the Chicago-istas when it comes to planning. What would you like to do, and what do you already have covered?

When I was in Chicago last month I got to do many of the touristy things I had on my list (Millenium Park and the Cloud Gate a.k.a. "The Bean," the Willis Sears tower, the John Hancock Center, the river&lake tour, the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium), but I'd enjoy seeing them again. I didn't get to the Museum of Science and Industry, and I intend to remedy that.

I'm arriving Friday evening, and leaving mid-day Monday.

If Strix would like me to do courier duty, it would be no problem at all.